Making changes to your charity

This section tells charity trustees when they need to get our consent for actions they want to take, and what kinds of things they must notify us about.
The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) sets out:
  • when charities need to get our consent before taking certain actions (Sections 11 and 16 of the 2005 Act)
  • when charities need to advise us of any actions they have taken (Section 17 of the 2005 Act)
For further information on when you need to contact OSCR please read our postcard.

When do you need to seek OSCR's prior consent?

If you are the trustees of a charity you must seek our consent before:

 

 

1. Changing your charity's name

 



Guidance

Application form

 

2. Amending your charity's purposes

 

 

Guidance


 Application form

3. Amalgamating your charity with another body


(For all forms of charities but not Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO). Please read our SCIO web page for further information).

 

 See our Amalgamating your charity page

4. Winding up or dissolving your charity

 

(For all forms of charities but not Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO). Please read our SCIO web page for further information).

 

Guidance

 Application form

5. Applying to court to amend your charity's charitable purposes, or to amalgamate, or to wind up

 

 See below

6. Changing your charity's legal form

 

(This applies to charities wishing to change legal form to all forms except SCIOs.  For those wishing to change to a SCIO please read 7 and 8 below).

 Guidance

Application form

Notes on how to complete the change of legal form application

Charity trustee declaration form

Application form: change in legal form (wind up and removal)

7. Changing to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO)

 

(This applies to any charity which is not a company or an Industrial and Provident Society which wishes to become a SCIO).

 

Guidance

 

Application form - Change to SCIO (Stage 1)

Notes on how to complete the change to SCIO (Stage 1) application

Charity trustee declaration forms

Application form - Removal from the Register (Stage 2)

 

8. Converting to a SCIO

 

(This applies to any charitable company or charitable Industrial and Provident Society which wishes to become a SCIO.

 Guidance

Application form and
guidance notes.

Charity trustee declaration forms

Notices of resolution for charitable companies template.

Notices of resolution for charitable Industrial and provident Societies template.

 

If you wish to apply to Court to amend your charity's purposes, amalgamate it with another body or wind up or dissolve it, you will also need our prior consent to do so.  To apply for this you should use the form from the list above which applies to the action for which you are applying to the Court.
You can only take these actions if you have the power to do so.  Where you do not have the power, you may wish to consider using the reorganisation provisions of Sections 39-43 of the 2005 Act.

Getting our permission

If you wish to seek our consent you must apply in writing, using the appropriate form above.   We need 42 days notice before the date on which the proposed change is to take place. Once we have agreed to the proposed change you must tell us when, if at all, the change is made.  This must be done in writing using our Notifications of changes made form.

When do you need to tell us about changes?

If you take the following actions you must tell us about them within three months of their having taken place:
  • any change to your charity's principal office (or the name, or address of the charity trustee specified in the Scottish Charity Register if there is no office)
  • any change in other details set out in your charity's Register entry
  • any change to your charity's constitution (other than those relating to your charity's purposes)
  • any action taken to amalgamate, or wind up, or dissolve your charity, or if there is an application to court to do so.
In addition, charities must advise us of the following changes within one month of the change taking place:
  • any administration order or an order for winding up made by the court in respect of a charity
  • the appointment of a receiver.

Advising OSCR of changes made

Charities must tell us in writing of changes made using our Notifications of changes made form.

Failing to tell OSCR

If as a charity trustee you take action without our consent where it is required or fail to tell us of changes made you will be in breach of Section 66 of the 2005 Act.  Any breach will be treated as misconduct, and action will be taken.